Fainting Goats and Finding Bliss

Maybe you’ve seen the videos on YouTube. If not, you should take a look: someone yells or throws up his arms, and a goat (or two, or three) falls over. The goat, which hasn’t actually fainted but is merely incapacitated, recovers in 5-20 seconds. It’s pretty hilarious. Unless you’re a goat trying to get away from a leopard or something.

“Fainting goats” suffer from a rare, genetic disorder called myotonia congenita, in which a mutation of the gene CLCN1 interferes with chloride channels – pro...